The photograph shows a woman with a guitar at the lectern of the main stage, equipped with a microphone arrangement directed toward a large audience. The caption identifies the performer as Joan Baez, one of the most renowned folk musicians of the civil rights movement, who was scheduled to perform that day. Gathered around the stage are press photographers, cameramen, and other credentialed personnel; in the background, the densely packed crowd on the National Mall is visible. Music and singing were an integral part of the rally at the Lincoln Memorial and underscored the demonstrators’ demands for civil equality and employment. The image documents the close connection between cultural figures and the organized civil rights movement in August 1963.